Neurobiology and Development
of Social Behavior

Our primary goal is to understand how social behavior and bonds are regulated across animal development. An infant's social needs are dramatically different from those of an adult. Over the course of the lifespan, animals must change their social behaviors to adapt to the new demands of their physical environments as well as their growing bodies. 

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Altricial neonatal mammals are entirely reliant upon their parent(s) to meet all of their basic and social needs. As animals age, they begin interacting with conspecifics outside of the familial groups. For monogamous species, this growth includes developing the ability to form long-lasting, selective pair bonds with a mating partner. 

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Our work spans across multiple levels of biology - from neural activity, to endocrine and neuropeptide signaling systems, gene regulation, up to complex multi-animal social interactions.